- Sojern: World Cup host cities see higher flight and hotel bookings.
- Accommodation bookings typically trail flights for major events.
- UK leads international flight bookings to US host cities.
WORLD CUP HOST cities are seeing higher flight and hotel bookings, according to Sojern. The UK leads international flight bookings to U.S. host cities at 19.5 percent, ahead of its 8.5 percent hotel share, while Canada accounts for 18.4 percent of flight bookings.
Sojern, which used data from more than 350 million monthly traveler profiles, found year-over-year growth in flight bookings for World Cup dates across the U.S., Mexico and Canada. While hotel booking pace has been a focus of recent commentary, accommodation bookings typically trail flights by weeks or months for major events. Historical patterns show significant volumes are confirmed in the final 6–10 weeks before travel, meaning demand should accelerate in the current window.
The tournament is less than two months away across host cities in the three countries the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“Recent headlines have focused on softness in inbound U.S. travel, but when you look specifically at the World Cup travel window, the data tells a different story,” said Mark Rabe, Sojern CEO. “This is a fundamentally different World Cup—spread across 16 host cities in three countries, rather than concentrated in a single destination like Qatar in 2022. Generating double-digit growth across that many markets simultaneously is a meaningful achievement and that is precisely what our data is showing. The opportunity for destinations and hotels is to lean in now, not wait.”
Meanwhile, Marriott Bonvoy and Visa recently launched a campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 offering tickets and experiences. The campaign, “For Fans, Everywhere,” features footballers Erling Haaland and Vinícius Júnior in digital and social content.
Flight booking trends
For the FIFA World Cup travel window between June 9 and July 18, year-over-year flight bookings increased at the host-city level.
Atlanta, Georgia: up 14 percent
Boston: up 17 percent
Dallas: up 42 percent
Houston: up 38 percent
Kansas City: up 27 percent
Los Angeles: up 8 percent
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale: up 15 percent
New York: up 9 percent
Philadelphia: up 16 percent
San Francisco: up 5 percent
Seattle: down 16 percent
Performance varied by market, however, overall results were positive.
Beyond North America and the UK, the data showed demand from other markets, the report said. South Korea was the third-largest international source market at 4.1 percent of bookings, ahead of France at 3.1 percent, Italy at 2 percent and Spain at 2.1 percent. Japan accounted for 3.9 percent of flight bookings and 4.7 percent of hotel bookings, indicating stronger conversion into hotel demand.
From Latin America, the data showed demand. Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, accounted for 1.3 percent of confirmed flight bookings and 8.2 percent of flight searches, the largest gap between searches and bookings in the dataset, indicating latent demand.
European share of inbound demand to all World Cup destinations rose year-over-year from 12 percent to 14 percent, while APAC rose from 6 percent to 7 percent.
Market context
Across all travel dates, global inbound flight bookings to the U.S. were below last year, down 1 percent to 6 percent year-over-year over the past 9 to 10 months, the report said. This aligned with industry reporting of weaker inbound demand.
However, momentum is shifting. March returned to growth, up 2 percent year-over-year and June 2026, the peak World Cup period, is pacing at up 7 percent. Around 62 percent of World Cup travelers said they planned trips of 6 to 12 plus days. This was reinforced by traveler profile data: 48 percent of flight bookings to World Cup destinations were solo travelers, a segment that typically books closer to departure. This suggests some demand will materialize in the final weeks before the tournament, especially domestically.
A recent report by the U.S. Travel Association found that the World Cup will bring economic gains to communities across the US. However, safety concerns, policy perceptions and entry barriers may limit the US from fully capturing the opportunity.
